Baylor retains Dave Aranda as head coach, eliminating him from USC DC search

Cross Dave Aranda off your lists, #USC fans. He has been retained by Baylor for one more season.

The coaching carousel news cycle is in overdrive on Sunday, with teams’ regular seasons ending and schools making official announcements on firings and retentions for 2024. The Baylor Bears have announced that head coach Dave Aranda will be retained for 2024, putting him off the market as a possibility for USC’s open defensive coordinator position.

Many people thought Aranda would be fired, given how much Baylor cratered late in the 2023 season. However, the Bears — realizing that Aranda did win the Big 12 championship and the Sugar Bowl in the 2021 season — have decided to give him one more year. Aranda will be on the hot seat in 2024, but he will at least get one more chance to save his job in Waco.

USC does have Tom Allen of Indiana to consider. Allen was fired by Indiana earlier on Sunday, putting him on the market as Lincoln Riley’s potential new coordinator. We will see if USC interviews Allen. We will keep you updated on USC’s defensive coordinator search, which now becomes more intense since the Trojans can interview lots of candidates. Expect USC to have a new coordinator in the next five days.

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